The National Prayer Breakfast was canceled this year for the first time in nearly 20 years following a dispute over a social media post by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) supporting the LGBT community.
The event’s preparatory committee said in a statement on Thursday that to prevent further disputes and misunderstandings between members, the annual meeting, originally set for yesterday, would not be held.
The prayer meeting, which has been held since 2001, is organized by Christian organizations of several denominations.
Themed “Love without borders,” this year’s event was supposed to take place at the Miracle Top Church’s MeHAS Complex Hall in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店).
However, on Wednesday, the committee sent a letter to the Presidential Office, asking that an envoy be sent to attend the event on behalf of the president, as committee members do not support Tsai’s stance on LGBT issues and were not happy about a remark she had made about the gay pride parade.
The dispute arose after Tsai posted a message on Facebook on Sunday inviting the public to celebrate the 18th annual LGBT Pride Parade.
Following the group’s letter, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan issued a separate statement on Thursday morning, saying that holding a national prayer breakfast without the head of state in attendance runs counter to its purpose.
In the past, Taiwan’s president has always spoken at the annual event, said the organization, which supported Tsai’s participation at this year’s event, despite the reaction to her Facebook post.
It also said it had withdrawn from its role in the preparatory committee.
On Thursday afternoon, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said that Tsai “respectfully declined” to attend the breakfast meeting, adding that she does not want people to quarrel over the matter after a majority of committee members asked the president not to attend.
Following Chang’s remarks, the committee issued a statement canceling the event.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
RSS